By RABBI BARRY COHEN
Whew! We just made it through the High Holidays. I hope Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were meaningful, cathartic and memorable. 
But we have only begun to celebrate. Next up? Sukkot, our holiday of thanksgiving. Sukkot is one of our pilgrimage festivals, historically when we would flock to Jerusalem. With Passover, we celebrated our exodus to freedom; with Shavuot, we celebrated the harvest (and later, the revelation of Torah at Mount Sinai); and with Sukkot, we celebrated another harvest, as well as our traveling through the desert to freedom in the Promised Land).
We find one of our most ancient references to Sukkot in Leviticus 23:42-43, “You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I the Lord Your G-d.”
We also must emphasize the agricultural aspect of Sukkot. Centuries ago, farmers would dwell in temporary structures at the edges of their fields to maximize the time they could devote to the harvest.
Sukkot features three mitzvot, or commandments: spending time in a sukkah, shaking the arba minim, the lulav and etrog, and celebrating.
Spending time in a sukkah enables us to get reconnected with the land and with each other. The sukkah is a minimalistic structure: four poles, thin walls and a roof comprised of sechach, branches or bamboo. This structure provides basic protection from the wind, sun and rain, but not too much protection. More important is what happens within the sukkah. We can rest, eat a light meal, enjoy the evening, and weather permitting, even sleep. 
A beautiful tradition is welcoming ushpizin, guests, into our sukkah and expressing hospitality. Symbolically, we can also invite Sarah and Abraham; Rebecca and Isaac; Rachel, Leah and Jacob; Joseph; Moses, Miriam and Aaron; as well as David, Abigail and Esther. All these biblical characters were wanderers and in need of hospitality and protection.
Fulfilling the mitzvah of shaking the lulav and etrog enables us to reconnect with the land and to show gratitude for the harvest. We read in Leviticus 23:40, “On the first day, you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.”
Think of how crucial the harvest was for our ancestors. If the harvest was inadequate in the spring and fall, hunger was sure to follow. We assume when we go to the grocery store or to the market that we will find what we are looking for. We forget about who planted the crops and who cultivated, harvested, packaged, transported and stocked them. Sukkot reminds us to be grateful for the interconnected web of people we depend on to put food on our table.
The High Holidays do not officially end until the conclusion of Sukkot. Our liturgy paints the image of the gates of forgiveness and how slowly and steadily they close. The Rabbis teach that though the gates of forgiveness may close at the end of Yom Kippur, they are not locked until the end of Sukkot. In that spirit, we can continue to reflect upon how it is not too late to secure the image of our highest selves. As we continue on our emotional/spiritual journeys, during Sukkot, we can stop along the way for rest and sustenance, both spiritual and physical. As we meet with family and friends in the sukkah, we can express gratitude and appreciation for one another and acknowledge how we depend upon each other and depend upon G-d.
During 5784 may we express gratitude for how interdependent we are for our safety, security, well-being and growth.